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Planetary News: Earth (2007)

New Image: EarthRise in HDTV

 

November 13, 2007

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) have acquired the world's first high-definition images of an Earthrise. Japan's lunar explorer Kaguya (SELENE), which entered lunar orbit on October 18, 2007, captured the images.

Earthrise over the Moon
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Earthrise over the Moon
Kaguya captured the blue marble of Earth rising over the Moon's north pole on November 7, 2007. This image is a still from a high-definition movie shot with Kaguya's wide-angle HD camera. Credit: JAXA / NHK

The Apollo missions were the first to take images of Earth rising over the Moon. Earthrise is a phenomenon seen only from satellites that travel around the Moon -- one would not seen an Earthrise from the lunar surface. Kaguya's high-definition images of the Earthrise show an impressive blue Earth -- the only floating object in pitch-dark space.

More On Earth


Kaguya's onboard high definition television (HDTV) for space use, developed by NHK, took these images -- the first high-definition Earth images taken from 380,000 kilometers away.

Telemetry data received at Japan's Usuda station confirmed that the spacecraft is in good health.

You can find more images and information on The Planetary Society's Weblog.